Oxfam Cymru backs Palestinian-led plan for Gaza as report puts rebuilding cost at £53bn

Mark Mansfield

Oxfam Cymru has urged governments to back a Palestinian-led reconstruction of Gaza after a new report estimated it will cost £53.4 billion to rebuild the territory over the next decade.

The charity says the scale of the destruction is unprecedented, with the projected cost around seven times higher, in real terms, than the combined cost of rebuilding after every previous major Israeli military offensive in Gaza over the past two decades.

The report, Building Gaza Anew, was produced jointly by Oxfam, the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) and the Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade).

It argues that reconstruction should be treated as “a matter of rights and reparations, not charity” and warns that rebuilding efforts imposed from outside without Palestinian leadership are unlikely to succeed.

Drawing on consultations with Palestinian academics, businesses and civil society organisations, the report calls for Palestinians to have control over planning, funding, implementation and oversight of reconstruction, rather than acting solely as consultees.

The report cites the latest UN, European Union and World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, which estimates Gaza has suffered £43.3 billion in damage and economic losses, with £53.4 billion required for recovery and reconstruction.

It says around 371,900 homes have been damaged or destroyed, 1.9 million people have been displaced and more than 66 million tonnes of rubble remain across the territory.

Hade Turkmen, interim head of Oxfam Cymru, said the report demonstrated that rebuilding efforts would fail unless Palestinians were placed at the centre of decision-making.

She said: “The people of Gaza do not need another reconstruction plan designed around them rather than with them. This report makes clear that recovery must be Palestinian led, grounded in rights and accompanied by real accountability for the destruction that has taken place.

“Rebuilding will fail again unless the root causes of this crisis are addressed. Reconstruction cannot simply replace what has been lost; it must help secure a future in which Palestinians can live with dignity, safety and self-determination.”

‘Ongoing genocide’

Ms Turkmen also called on the Welsh Government to press for an end to what she described as Israel’s “ongoing genocide” in Gaza, support unrestricted humanitarian access and work to create the conditions for Palestinians to rebuild their homes and communities.

The report argues that previous reconstruction efforts following the conflicts of 2008-09, 2014 and 2021 were undermined by blockades, restrictions on access and funding shortfalls before subsequent fighting caused further destruction.

Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: “Gaza has never been allowed to finish rebuilding. A decade after Israel’s 2014 offensive, families were still waiting for homes that never came, and then the bombs returned.

“This is not fate. It is Israel’s illegal occupation and blockade, and the impunity producing the same result, war after war.”

Social damage

The report also highlights what it describes as wider social damage that cannot easily be measured financially, including the destruction of schools, universities, libraries and cultural institutions, the collapse of care systems, environmental degradation and the loss of community networks.

Among its recommendations is a five-year recovery framework based on Palestinian ownership, with international donors supporting rather than directing reconstruction. It also calls for reconstruction to be linked to a broader political settlement encompassing Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, arguing that lasting recovery depends on Palestinian self-determination.

The paper has been published ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly and future international donor discussions on Gaza’s recovery. It urges governments to transfer decision-making power to Palestinians, remove barriers to reconstruction and ensure accountability alongside financial support.

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